Poor old Charlie

[merry]

I don't like the man but wouldn't wish cancer on anyone. Brave of him to allow it to be made known, too. The Royals are usually all 'oh a slight bit of mobility issue' or 'a mild cold' even the very day before they turn their toes up.

I hope they can fix him up a bit. And I'm not ready for another coronation

[Furby]

I just said the same in another thread. Oh no not another coronation.

The previous queen was lucky in a way because covid hit and everthing went online so it was easier to pretend for longer. The new king has all sorts of world tours lined up where having cancer would be noticed even if he is well enough to carry on for a while so I suppose saying something is least worst choice.

These days people are more cynical and it all kicks off on social media. Not like the old days where they said the king George has had a lung cut out but is fine. I read this history and wondered why people believed it.

[OurCreature]

I understand they are being very coy about what sort of cancer it is that afflicts the king; I read that it is unrelated to the enlarged prostate that he had treated in the private hospital.

[Furby]

What it does show is that the original plan used by previous queen elizabeth and the current princess of Wales Catherine of not giving details beyond what is unavoidable remains the best plan.

Charles plan to tell details of prostate operation and saying oh but it's not cancer hasn't gone well has it now it's another sort of cancer. Unless it's all part of a drip feed information plan to get public used to the idea. It's all very odd which usually means more going on that hasn't been told yet. With all the tests charles must have by expensive doctors how could they not notice until after he has been cut up. If you have cancer and they cut you open your days are usually numbered.

The counsellors of state rules have been changed now which is lucky. Non working royals Harry Andrew and Beatrice were crossed off and Anne and Edward added which is very convenient because otherwise we would have had none since William decided to stop working for 3 months because of Catherine's operation. William is back at work on Wednesday which does suggest to me king charles is much sicker than they are saying.

[eccles]

He'll be good for five years or more after treatment so I wouldn't write him off just yet.

[Furby]

The counsellors of state can't appoint a new prime minister (hence qe2 having to do it herself for Liz truss despite dying the next day) or appoint new peers or disolve parliament so parliament needs to behave itself for a while.



.

[OurCreature]

At present the king is not ill enough to stop doing the paperwork and no councillors of state have been appointed.........yet. He will also have private meetings when necessary, though they have not yet decided what to do about Dishy Rishi's weekly chats with him, or meetings of the Privy Council.

Prince Harry is said to be preparing to jet over from the USA to visit the king. I understand there are no plans for the king to meet Liz Truss.

[eccles]

I daresay that this was not the plan when there was talk of slimming down the monarchy.

[Furby]

Charles has gone off to Sandringham now which doesn't make much sense. Aren't the best hospitals and all the government people he needs to see in london. Almost as though he is making it difficult on purpose.

The slimming down was thought up in different times. But all families go through these stages of too many adults and then old people die and children are still children which is where we are. Harry leaving messed it more but Harry and Meghan would still only be two people and probably even worse at refusing to work because of the children than William and Catherine. If the only reliable workers are people with grown up children but not yet too old to work anywhere is going to struggle to get the staff. Through history parents have had to work and children managed even without nannies to help.

[OurCreature]

I think Sandringham probably is the best place for the king while he has his treatment for his cancer, which is on an outpatients basis and for which he has to return to London for the next and subsequent treatments. In a few weeks people will be able to guess at what kind of treatment this is eg if what is left of his hair all falls out.

I have a friend who was treated for cancer many years ago. After his relatively small operation he was given chemotherapy; they could have done it as an outpatients treatment but he belonged to BUPA as it then was and so was kept in for 3 days at a time in a private room (with a wonderful view of the hospital dustbins) while he was hooked up for all that time to the drip. We took it in turns to ferry him there and back. His mother came down from Derbyshire to look after him, and one time when I took him home I was especially glad she was there because he was feeling so ill he'd never have coped by himself.

And I think that's the point for the king. I understand that Sandringham is the place where he feels happiest (apart from his properties in Romania) so it is best for him that he stays there in between treatments.

I'm sure Sandringham has all mod cons re communications to the outside world, plus one of the king's physicians close by to keep an eye on him health-wise. If Dishy Rishi needs urgently to see the king in person they can always helicopter him to Sandringham from Buck House like they did with the king and queen the other day.

[Furby]

The king can just wear a hat then we can't see his hair.

[eccles]

Harry's return was well publicised considering he is supposed to be avoiding the paparazzi.
I've seen the King wearing a flat cap on occasion so it wouldn't look out of place.

Ayup Chuck!

[Furby]

The king Charles has been keeping away from working except from home but has made himself seen through limousine windows so we know he still exists.

The princess of Wales previously known as Catherine duchess of Cambridge (i still cant get used to Camilla being The Queen and William and Catherine being prince and princess of Wales) has kept her illness and recovery or otherwise very secret which is unusual in these days of mobile phones and spies and fifth columns everywhere to the point that rumours are circulating on twitter about it all.

It is indeed very odd because 40 somethings being unable to do anything af all for three months is unheard of these days especially with the expensive health care the royals can afford and they have a dozen servants to help them do anything anyway. For people on benefits unless you are terminally ill in very near future they still make you pretend to try to apply for jobs so why should royals be allowed to stay home for three months doing nothing not even an online application picture. Workers have to call in personally to employers every day while on sick leave a family member isnt allowed to call on their behalf unless they are in a coma. The royal advisors haven't thought this one through it seems unless it's worse than we think and rumours running wild are least worse option.

It's got extra complicated because a royal cousins husband was shot in the head and then prince William couldn't even attend a church service for one hour a mile from his home for unknown reasons and these things might all be unrelated but put together its in couldn't write the script for this territory.

[OurCreature]

It's all a bit weird but, thankfully, none of my business. While I am sorry that some of them are ill, I am no more sorry for them than I would be for Joe Bloggs down the road. Apart from the King's constitutional responsibilities, I'm not sure that Royal absences from this and that have actually affected anybody except the folk who were going to attend those functions.

[eccles]

According to chat last night, Merry is very good at waving, so perhaps she might step in occasionally for royal waving duty.

[Furby]

Camilla needs a summer holiday now she has had to work harder with charles too sick for outdoor work and William avoiding work for his own secret reasons. As she is 76 this is probably reasonable as most people her age already retired but it does show how slimmed down monarchy isn't a good future plan.

I think they need to review what work is done as well as who does it. The constitutional works and handing out honours and coronations and jubilees stuff is what the monarch is employed to do so that has to stay and the king will have to bring in enough people these jobs can be covered even if his preferred people are too sick when the day comes. With everyone over 40, most already past retirement age and it being at least 10 years until the direct line of George Charlotte Louis can do real work it's something that has to be addressed.

All the charity work advertising charities and such like isn't part of the monarchs job. It was started by queen victoria so people would like her more and expanded massively to give the duke of Edinburgh something to do. These days there are so many other more famous and popular celebrities who can work for charities and who are more than happy to be all over social media and therefore do better jobs in raising awareness. So king should cancel all charity work stick with the essential work and see how they manage. Then a decision to bring in more staff to cope or add a bit of charity work back in if not enough work to go around left. They don't seem to be even trying to make better plans i am sure if I can think of this highly trained royal advisors can do.

It's part of a wider malaise in workplaces though. At mine they were always wanting us to do charity work even if it interferes with real work and never made sense to me. Fine to be seen as nice people if there is spare time or people do it after work but at the expense of doing actual jobs was mad.

[OurCreature]

I think the engagement that the Prince of Wales ducked out of was reading a lesson at the Thanksgiving service in St George's Chapel, Windsor, for the late former King Constantine II of Greece who died on 10 January 2023 in Athens. Had they only just noticed? That counts as a family do to me, and not work at all.

It's all a bit weird. As Furby remarked, this family service was on the Prince's doorstep so I don't buy into the tale that he absented himself for legitimate personal reasons. There might have been somebody attending who he really truly hates like poison, but that is pure speculation on my part.

All it does is reinforce the impression that they are all a bit on the loony side.

[Furby]

It's all just curiouser and curiouser isn't it.

The photo taken to reassure public that the Princess is still alive has been removed from news outlets because its been photoshopped. The princess has admitted this. But if she was well enough to have a photo and spend time messing about on Photoshop and follow the news and reply with apologies that doesnt tie in with original story that she is so unwell she can't do even a tiny bit of work until after Easter. So either way someone is lying.

The camera used costs 3000 pounds and 1600 for a lens which I thought was mad but our photo expert Eccles might say they are cheapskates in photo circles.

[eccles]

£3,000 for a camera body is high-end but not outrageously so. I imagine the £1,600 lens would be a short zoom for her family photos. My camera cost about £2,300 as a kit with 14-40mm Pro zoom lens. But if you want decent photos of wildlife then it will cost you. My big telephoto was about £6,500 and is considered to be high end for the camera's micro-4/3 format. It's my most used lens so I get a lot of value from it.

[eccles]